Football seems to be a sport of cycles, and FC Barcelona is a club all too familiar with them. However, just as much as those cycles can be seen resurfacing, there are also a lot of variables in the sport. For Barcelona, the variables tend to be a lot more consistent in their frequency over the last few years it seems.
Heading into this season, there was already a contractual agreement in place with head coach Xavi Hernandez that he would have another season to coach Barcelona after the 2023/2024 campaign. However, things did not go according to plan and the trajectory of his managerial future was changed in entirety.
Xavi himself, after a rather disheartening loss to Villarreal in January, claimed that his time with Barcelona will end after this ongoing campaign. However, ever since he made that claim, the team has begun to deliver much better and much more consistent results that have helped both domestically and on the grand European stages.
In fact, as highlighted by SPORT, Xavi’s Barcelona is closing in on their best run of form under him. The best streak, thus far, that the Catalans have had under Xavi took place between October of 2022 and February of 2023. That period saw the Blaugranes go undefeated for 18 games in total between that time.
Currently, Xavi’s Barcelona stand on 13 games unbeaten since his announcement about his departure. Ten of those games have ended in wins for La Blaugrana, while three of them have resulted in draws.
Several of these matches have also been significant victories for Barcelona, with wins over the likes of Napoli, PSG, and Atletico Madrid having been a part of them.
For now, there is no telling how long this ongoing streak for Xavi’s Barcelona remains intact. Their upcoming clash against PSG will hardly be a walk in the park, and the subsequent encounter against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu will be another massive test.
For Xavi’s Barcelona, the hurdles keep on piling up, but they could not have found their best version at a better time.
